By Matthew Holloway |
Arizona’s Republican Senate leadership issued a sharp condemnation of the violent anti-immigration enforcement riots, still raging in Los Angeles in a Monday press release. They also issued a direct call for Arizona’s Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs and Attorney General Kris Mayes to “cooperate with the Trump Administration with enforcing federal immigration laws to keep Arizona communities safe from harm.”
According to Fox10 Phoenix, an anti-ICE protest took place in Phoenix near the Capitol building, but despite claiming to stand “in solidarity” with the violent rioters in LA, remained largely peaceful.
Senate President Warren Petersen said in the statement, “What’s unfolding in California under their radical leftist government is an atrocity. These are not protests. These are violent riots being carried out by criminal thugs with no regard for public safety. If protests here in Arizona escalate to rioting, the Hobbs Administration and Attorney General Mayes must be prepared to take action. I am calling on the governor and the attorney general to honor the oath of office they swore to uphold by cooperating with the Trump Administration on enforcement of federal immigration laws, deportations of criminal illegal aliens, and to hold accountable those who violate state laws when demonstrations spiral out of control.”
“Complete and total chaos is ensuing in California, and Democrat elected officials, including Arizona’s own Governor Hobbs, are banding together in support of this violence,” said President Pro Tempore T.J. Shope. “It is maddening that Hobbs would sign onto a letter from California’s Gruesome Newsom speaking out against President Trump for deploying the National Guard to protect American citizens from harm. Newsflash, Governor Hobbs- it’s not ‘an alarming abuse of power’ for a president to take this action to stop violent rioters. Federal law allows it.”
“Californians have found themselves in the middle of a warzone. I’m grateful the Trump Administration has mobilized the national guard, as well as marines, to stop the riots and restore order so that ICE agents can do their jobs,” said Senate Majority Whip Frank Carroll. “Anyone who harms our citizens, our law enforcement, or our military must be held accountable under the full force of the law. Arizona Senate Republicans stand with police officers, ICE agents, and our military members to ensure this violence does not spread across state lines or develop within Arizona.”
Responding to the Phoenix protest, a Phoenix Police spokesman said, “The Phoenix Police Department became aware of a group of individuals expressing their views near 10th Avenue and Van Buren this evening around 6:00 p.m. The group marched through portions of the downtown area and ultimately returned to where it began on Van Buren Street. Phoenix Police Officers along with Department of Public Safety Troopers were present and closed down streets after it was observed the group was walking in the roadway. Our duty continues to be ensuring the safety of all involved while treating everyone with dignity and respect.”
Rioting in Los Angeles, which began near the ICE detention center downtown and the Paramount neighborhood, escalated since Friday with numerous law enforcement vehicles damaged, officers injured, and several Waymo autonomous vehicles burned leading to the deployment of 2,000 National Guard Troops to protect federal property and personnel. By Monday, the deployment has ramped up to 4,000 National Guardsmen and 700 United States Marines from nearby Camp Pendelton over the objections of Governor Gavin Newsom, Hobbs, and other Democrat politicians who called the deployment “ineffective and dangerous.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
